Session 2220

Harmonic Analysis of three phase PWM inverter systems using

MATLAB

Wajiha Shireen and Rahul A. Kulkarni

University of Houston.

Abstract: In this paper analysis of a three phase PWM inverter system, with harmonic assessment of
the inverter input current and output voltage with balanced and unbalanced loads is presented. The
analytical procedure and the simulation results presented show how MATLAB can be used as an
effective tool to analyze a PWM inverter. Advantages of using MATLAB are: faster response,
availability of various simulation tools and functional blocks and the absence of convergence
problems. The analytical procedure and simulation outlined in this paper can be used as an
educational tool to make the concepts of modern power conversion schemes comprehensible to
students.

I. INTRODUCTION

Pulse Width Modulated (PWM) inverter systems are used in a wide variety of applications
as a front-end power-conditioning unit. Applications of PWM inverter systems include: electric
drives, uninterruptible power supplies, high voltage DC transmission, active power filters and
reactive power compensators in power systems, electric vehicles, alternate energy systems,
industrial processes, etc. Inverters realize dc-to-ac power conversion and in the most commonly
used voltage source inverter configuration, the dc-input voltage can be obtained from a diode
rectifier or from another dc source such as battery. A typical voltage source PWM inverter system
consists of rectifier, DC-link, PWM inverter along with associated control circuitry and the load.
Most modern voltage-source inverters are controlled using wide variety of pulse width
modulation (PWM) schemes, to obtain output ac voltages of the desired magnitude and frequency
shaped as closely as possible to a sine wave.

Analysis of PWM inverter systems is required to determine the input-output characteristics

for an application specific design, which is used in the development and implementation of the
appropriate control algorithm. In addition to time domain analysis, harmonic assessment is an
integral part of analysis and simulation of any power conversion system. Several powerful
computer simulation tools such as PSPICE, SABER and MATLAB, are available that can be
effectively used and analyze and design PWM inverter systems. Advantages of using MATLAB
are: faster response, availability of various simulation tools and functional blocks that makes the
simulation process simpler and it does not suffer from convergence problem as in the case of other
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software tools.

“Proceedings of the 2003 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition,
Copy Right  2003, American Society for Engineering Education”
 Analysis and design of PWM inverter systems have been mainly based on supplying
balanced and linear loads [1]. However, the general drive towards automation has increased the
use of a spectrum of new loads such as : computers with peripherals, telecommunication
equipment, industrial robots etc. A large majority of these new loads are unbalanced and/or
nonlinear in nature. In view of this, this paper presents the analysis of a three-phase PWM inverter
system including harmonic assessment of the inverter input current and output voltage with
balanced and unbalanced loads. Analytical equation using the switching function approach is used
to find the proper state equations to describe the power conversion circuit in MATLAB [2].
Recent research has shown that the switching function concept is a powerful tool in analysis static
power converters [3]. Switching functions are Fourier Series representation of the switching
sequence used for PWM control of the inverter switching devices. In the paper, the switching
function approach used to derive the state equations is described and simulation results from the
MATLAB program are presented. Effects of balanced and unbalanced loads on the harmonic
contents of the inverter-input current are presented. The analytical procedure and simulation
outlined in this paper can be used as an educational tool to make the concepts of modern power
conversion schemes comprehensible to students. The harmonic assessment of input-output
parameters presented in the paper is specially important to introduce the students to the harmonic
related power quality issued faced by modern power systems, when loaded with different
application specific power conversion equipment.

II. ANALYSIS OF A THREE PHASE PWM INVERTER

Figure 1 shows a typical three phase PWM inverter system. The dc-input for the three phase
inverter is obtained by rectifying a 60 Hz ac source by means of a diode rectifier. The DC-link
components L and C are so selected that the voltage Vdc at the inverter input is constant and
ripple free. The semiconductor switching devices in the inverter are controlled by PWM signals
generated by a control circuit in order to obtain three phase near sinusoidal ac voltages of the
desired magnitude and frequency at the inverter output.
L

60 Hz 3 Phase
Diode
AC D C Link PWM 3 Phase Load
Rectifier
Source Inverter

Figure 1. A typical three phase PWM inverter system

In order to analyze the PWM inverter system in MATLAB, it is important to compute a

dependent variable (input current, output voltage) in terms of an independent variable (input
voltage and output current). The transfer function approach is used to describe the inverter
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operation.
“Proceedings of the 2003 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition, Copy
Right  2003, American Society for Engineering Education”
 For a three phase inverter, the transfer function (T) is composed of three independent
switching functions and is given by,

T = [S 1 S2 S3] (1)

The switching functions are Fourier Series representation of the switching sequence used
for PWM control of the inverter switching devices. Mathematical representation of switching
functions are given by,

S1 (ωt ) = A0 + ∑A n sin( nωt )

n =1 (2a)
2π
S 2 (ωt ) = S1 (ωt − )
3 (2b)
2π
S 3 (ωt ) = S1 (ωt + )
3 (2c)

Where A0 represents the dc value and ω is the desired frequency at the inverter output. The
switching functions were generated by using the Sinusoidal Pulse Width Modulation (SPWM)
technique, as shown in Figure 2. The ‘saw tooth’ function in MATLAB was used to generate the
carrier signal of the desired frequency. The carrier signal frequency used for the simulation was
1980 Hz. The switching function S1 for phase ‘a’ of the inverter was generated by comparing the
carrier signal with modulating signal Mod_a. Similarly, switching functions S2 and S 3 can be
obtained by comparing carrier signal with modulating signals Mod_b and Mod_c for phases ‘b’
and ‘c’ respectively. Figure 3 shows the switching function S1 and Fig. 4 shows its frequency
spectrum. The frequency spectrum of any periodic signal can be obtained by using the FFT
function in MATLAB. It can be seen from Fig. 4 that the switching function consists of the
fundamental 60 Hz component and higher order harmonics. Lower order harmonics up to the
33rd (1980 Hz) has been eliminated by the SPWM strategy.

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Figure 2: Sinusoidal pulse width modulation.

“Proceedings of the 2003 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition, Copy
Right  2003, American Society for Engineering Education”
Figure 3: Switching Function S1 for phase ‘a’.

Figure 4: Frequency Spectrum of Switching Function S1.

Based on the switching functions (transfer function, T), the dependent variables of the
inverter system such as the input current and output voltages, can be calculated from the
independent variables.

III. INVERTER WITH BALANCED LOADS

Assuming star connected balanced loads at the output of the inverter with impedance Z, the
inverter line to neutral output voltage (V) is given by,

Vdc
V = T. = [VanVbnVcn ]
2 (3)
Where, Vdc is the inverter input voltage. The line to neutral voltage Van is a pulse width modulated
waveform similar to the switching function S1. The pulse magnitudes in Van varies from 0 to
Vdc/2 whereas S1 varies between 0 and 1.

The inverter output line currents can be computed as,

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“Proceedings of the 2003 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition, Copy
Right  2003, American Society for Engineering Education”
 Van (ωt )
I a (ωt ) =
Z
∞
Vdc
( A0 + ∑ An sin n(ωt − ϕ ))
= 2Z n =1 (4a)

2π
I b (ωt ) = I a (ωt − )
3 (4b)

2π
I c (ωt ) = I a (ωt + )
3 (4c)

Where, ϕ is the impedance angle.

The three phase output currents of the inverter can be represented by,
I 0 = [ I a I b I c ]T
(5)

Hence, the inverter input current Ii can be computed as,

I i = T .I 0 (6)
From equations (1) and (2) the input current can be written as,

I i (ωt ) = I a .S1 + I b .S 2 + I c .S 3 (7)

The mathematical operation in equation (7) was performed in MATLAB to obtain the inverter
input current for balanced loads and its corresponding frequency spectrum as shown in Figures 5
and 6 respectively. From Fig. 6 it can be seen that the inverter input current with balanced loads
consists of a dc component and higher order switching frequency harmonics (1980 Hz and
above). The inverter line to line output voltage can be generated using the line to neutral voltages.

Vab = Van − Vbn (8)

Figure. 7 shows the inverter line to line output voltage and Fig. 8 shows its frequency
spectrum. It can be seen that the line to line voltage varies between 1, 0 and –1. The output
voltage consists of the fundamental (60 Hz) component and higher order switching frequency
harmonics as can be seen from the FFT shown in Fig. 8. By increasing the frequency of the carrier
signal in the PWM strategy, the higher order harmonics can be pushed further along the frequency
axis making the inverter output voltage more closely resemble a pure sine wave.
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“Proceedings of the 2003 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition, Copy
Right  2003, American Society for Engineering Education”
 Figure 5: Inverter Input Current for Figure 6: Frequency Spectrum of Inverter Input
Balanced Loads. Current For Balanced Loads.

Figure 7: Inverter line-to-line output voltage. Figure 8: Frequency spectrum of line-

to-line output voltage.

IV. INVERTER WITH UNBALANCED LOADs

If three phase unbalanced loads Za, Zb and Zc.are connected at the inverter output, the three
phase unbalanced currents can be calculated as,

Van (ωt )
I a (ωt ) = = I 1 sin(ωt − θ1 )
Za (9a)
Vbn (ωt )
I b (ωt ) = = I 2 sin(ωt − θ 2 )
Zb (9b)
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“Proceedings of the 2003 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition, Copy
Right  2003, American Society for Engineering Education”
 Vcn (ωt )
I c (ωt ) = = I 3 sin(ωt − θ 3 )
Zc (9c)

Where, I1, I2, I3 represent the current magnitudes and θ1, θ2, θ3 are the impedance angles. The
same approach used for balanced loads can be used to plot the inverter input current. Figure 9
illustrates the inverter input current with unbalanced loads and its frequency spectrum is shown in
Figure 10. it can be seen from Fig. 10 that in addition to the dc component the inverter input
current consists of a 60 Hz and a 120 Hz component. These lower order harmonics are not
present in the inverter input current spectrum for balanced loads (Fig. 6). Hence, unbalanced loads
generate abnormal harmonics at the inverter input.

Figure 9: Inverter Input Current For Unbalanced loads. Figure 10: Frequency Spectrum Of
Inverter Input Current for
Unbalanced Loads.
V. CONCLUSIONS

The analytical procedure and simulation results presented in this paper show how MATLAB
can be used as an effective tool to analyze PWM inverter systems. Simulation results for both
balanced and unbalanced loads were presented. A similar approach can be used to analyze/predict
the inverter dependent variables with nonlinear loads. The appearance of abnormal harmonics at
the inverter input due to load unbalance at the inverter output, may pose as a problem in some
applications. This opens possibilities of new research directions involving the reduction or
elimination of these abnormal harmonics.

VI. BIBLIOGRAPHY

[1] L. Salazar and G. Joos, “ PSpice Simulation of Three Phase Inverter by means of
Switching Function”, IEEE Trans. on Power Electronics, Vol. 9, No. 1, Jan. 1994.
[2] P. Enjeti and P. D . Ziogas, “ Analysis of a Static power converter under unbalance”,
IEEE Transactions in Industrial Electronics, Vol. 37, No. 1, February 1990.
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“Proceedings of the 2003 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition, Copy
Right  2003, American Society for Engineering Education”
[3] Lee B. -K, Ehsani M, “A simplified functional simulation model for three-phase voltage-
source inverter using switching function concept”, IEEE trans. on Ind. Electronics, v 48,n
2, April 2001, p309-321.

VII. BIOGRAPHY

Wajiha Shireen is an Associate Professor in the Engineering Technology Department at

University of Houston, Houston, Texas. She obtained her B.S degree in Electrical Engineering
from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology in 1987. She completed her M.S and
PhD degrees in 1991 and 1993, both from Texas A & M University, College Station, Texas. She
joined University of Houston in 1993. Her research interests are in the area of power electronics
which includes advanced PWM methods, active power filtering, soft switching inverters etc.

Rahul A. Kulkarni is working towards his M.S degree in Electrical Engineering at University of
Houston, Houston, Texas. He obtained his B.S degree from India in 2000.

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“Proceedings of the 2003 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition, Copy
Right  2003, American Society for Engineering Education”